a matter of resolution

[Tyr]

Hey folks,

I was just curious, I remember the old "forest demo" which has been removed for some reason. it was great by the way. Anyways to my question.If I remember correctly it was done at 320X200 (ish) if I remember thats pretty much the standard for KQ, SQ, QFG games. but now alot of video cards arn't supporting that resolution, are there any plans to over come this? did you crank up the resolution or will the game most likley run in "windowed mode"


Just curious, keep up the good work

--Tyr

[PHattiE]

320x240 actually... which I would think is still supported by video cards, but maybe not so much by monitors.  MAD does support window mode, though my guess is that we are switching to AGS to get this game out faster.  And if we are using AGS, it will most likely be defaulted to the 640x480 scaled mode.

[Tyr]

whoa? switching to AGS "this late in the game"? isn't that going to involve pretty much starting all over again from scratch?

[PHattiE]

Naw, I wouldn't say it's starting over from scratch--  In a few hours time, we can have most of the backgrounds imported into AGS with their corresponding masks.  But of course, the puzzles, combat engine, dialogue logic, etc all have to be rewritten.  The good news is that many more of our programmers can help out (even non-programmers who just know how to script), and we're not reliant on core MAD programmers to fix bug issues. 

Additionally, we are having to change up some of the plot for simplicity reasons...  Which means some of what was done in MAD would have had to be gutted anyway.

It's kind of sad to abandon MAD, because MAD really could be the best engine out there if it was given more attention by the open source community.  I could see it surpassing AGS in features and popularity.  Right now though, AGS is easier to use, there is a large community to lean on for help, and the engine is mature and well tested. 

One of the issues with hero6 is its age.  A lot of original hero6 members have grown older and have new responsibilities in their lives (IE: some who were single and free when joining hero6, are now married w/ kids).  This causes old members to fall away.  Meanwhile, new members are struggling to fully grasp an unpopular engine, immense game materials, a complicated and large plot, etc.

So right now we're really focusing on simplifying things and getting rid of overhead-- MAD is unforunately lumped into that category. 

At least that's my understanding (I've been a little out of the loop for a while now; development has gone uber-private).

[Tyr]

True I suppose, walk areas, hotspots are quite easy to deal with in AGS, so converting all the backgrounds, and sprites would take little I do suppose. I agree it is sad MAD didn't take off, it is quite good (although frustrating at times) And I'm very surprised the open source community didn't pick up on it, I know Chris Jones has been harassed quite a few times about releasing his source code to help improve AGS but he won't go for it. So you'd think on that note that there would be a market for an open source engine of this kind. Maybe it's because people don't know about it, or maybe they do know but see the SF page is out of date so they figure MAD is just vapor ware. Who knows.

I can defiantly see where you're coming from with the age of hero6. I've been following it for quite some time since 2001 or around there someplace I've seen over the years many people come and go. I've applied a couple times, although it just so happens it's always when things are at a low point. I remember when hero6.com was a thriving on-line community, Visitors were teased by tidbits maybe a screenshot or 2 once in a blue moon. Now the visitor boards are completely dead, and judging by your statement of uber-privacy I'm only to assume that the members boards are in the same shape. Again unfortunate. But that seems to be the trend there's always been alot of ups and downs when it's come to this project but I have a pretty good feeling it will be completed eventually.

and hey at least maybe my grand kids will enjoy it  , I kid I kid.   

Regards,
-Tyr

[PHattiE]

Actually, more work is being done on hero6 now, than during the past 2 years.  From the new material I have seen, I would even say that the work produced in the last 6 months is more than what was produced in the last 2 years combined.  Not to say that hero6 couldn't go through another slump in development, but so far it's been going good.

The hero6 member forums ARE somewhat dead... it might be because the hero6 website and member base needs a serious makeover  (it's a little uninspiring coming here after all of the crap that's gone on; plus dealing with community politics is really distracting us from the real game development). 

My guess is that when significant progress has been done with the AGS port, the plot changes, and the art reworkings, hero6's website will go through a change and more anouncements will be made. 

[JustLuke]

Hero6 has a hugely tarnished reputation and you'll  have a hard time convincing anyone that the project is anything more than vaporware.

It seems to me that you'd be better off calling time on the project - possibly to regroup, rethink, and start afresh with a new project that isn't saddled with the baggage that comes with this one. Like it or not, Hero 6 is something of a joke now - little more than a community where people used to go to play at game development (issuing "press releases", spending lots of time on the forums, etc.), and, unfortunately, it is now a dying one at that.

Harsh words, I know, but true. Look, I'm sure that there are a bunch of talented people still working on this game, but perhaps their skills could be put to better use on a new, fresh project? Ditch the convoluted, clunky plot that you've inherited, scrap the artwork that either no longer fits the game or needs significantly reworking - basically, start anew.

p.s. the cheesy "Brad Pitt in hero clothing" portrait on the vistor's homepage doesn't exactly give a positive impression either. Do you have permission to use his likeness, by the way?

[Swift]

p.s. the cheesy "Brad Pitt in hero clothing" portrait on the vistor's homepage doesn't exactly give a positive impression either. Do you have permission to use his likeness, by the way?

Really? If I'm not mistaken, SE (the one who drew that picture) modeled the portrait after her boyfriend (who isn't Brad Pitt, by the way). Art is subjective. You and everyone else see what you want to see, but should other people's portraits not be used at all just because some (perhaps a few) might mistake theirs for a certain celebrity's?

Regardless, thank you for your feedback. We're aware of the issue and we're taking care of it. As of right now, the whole team cares more about getting it done than to worry about what others think of it, and I'll leave it at that.

[Tyr]

Ahmen Swift!

I went and actually looked at the picture....I personally don't see brad pitt but meh. I find it funny how the internet takes such joy out of making fun of, or bashing something that people are proud of. You make a movie; you get told how much it sucks...how the story blows, or the camera work, or the lighting etc. This is done typically by know it alls who have never attempted it before. I'm sure the entire team here is proud of there efforts (although I'm sure looking forward to the end) it's not easy trying to put together a project like this let alone  get it off the ground in the first place, I Know I've tried. The way I look at it, If the game is never completed (which I doubt) at least you gave it your best effort to get it done, and thats much more than alot of folks can say.

Don't listen to the flamers They ain't worth it.

[PHattiE]

Hero6 has a hugely tarnished reputation and you'll  have a hard time convincing anyone that the project is anything more than vaporware.

You must be the one that the gaming community has chosen to represent them and tell us this valuable insight!  We will forever be indebted to your kind service.

Truth is, your mamma didn't do a good job of teaching you proper manners.

Harsh words, I know, but true.


I'm not trying to fan the flames, and I do appreciate blunt people, but you could have been more tactful with how you said things.  Our artist's rendition of the hero might not suit your taste, but I personally see no likeness between Pitt and him.  Being accusative like that makes you sound like an ass.  (Just trying to save your internet reputation is all, and since you dished out your advice, I'm giving you mine  )

Anyway, a new project would be fun... for the first few months.  Hero6's content (art, music, sprites, etc) is pretty massive, so trashing it and starting over would be stupid in my opinion.  As for reworking the plot- we've done that.. many times.

Let people think hero6 is vaporware.  We're not creating hero6 so that we can have a "reputation".  We're making hero6 for fun.  When negative jerks come in here spewing garbage, it takes a notch out of the fun-factor.

[Tyr]

amazing how the internet can turn a simple qeuestion about resolution into a flame war

--Tyr